Tools, Tones and Toys for Guitarists
Here’s a work-a-like for the Spark Mini. It’ll be a bit of a squeeze, but it should fit in a 1590A. The original is all SMD components, so the transistors listed below aren’t the same as the original, but through-hole equivalents. Other NPN and PNP transistors can be used (2N5088/87, 2N3904/06, etc.). Here’s the schematic … Read more
Came across this design in researching a different project and thought I’d draw it up. It uses 3 transistors and doesn’t take up a lot of space, so you should be able to fit it in a 1590A or add it to another pedal. More info can be found here. Sounds like you can use … Read more
Fuzz Friday! Freppo over at Parasit Studios makes some insanely cool stuff. Here’s his Eagle Claw octave fuzz. You can probably squeeze it into a 1590a if you’re feeling adventurous. In his own words: The Eagle Claw is simple yet brutal, noisy and glitchy sounding CMOS-based fuzz with a full wave rectifier to produce a … Read more
Got several requests for this one. Basically, it’s small preamp to plug into a mobile device for use with apps like iRig. Pretty simple circuit. Shouldn’t be hard to fit in a 1590a or even smaller since you don’t need to include a footswitch.
If you’re a Dead Head, you’ll probably be interested in this one. It’s the pre-amp from Jerry Garcia’s Tiger guitar used from ’79-’89 and built by Doug Irwin. It’s a unity gain buffer to prevent signal loss with long cables. It can be built into a guitar like the original or into a 1590A. Other … Read more
The Catalinbread Sagrado Poblano Picoso is a bass version of Jack Orman’s (AMZ) MOSFET Booster. Really the only difference between the two are a couple cap values. So if you want to build the AMZ version, sub the 470µF cap with a 100µF and the 220nF with a 100nF. Should be a pretty easy fit … Read more
Here’s a nice little boost from ROG that originated from trying to design a FET-based Rangemaster treble booster. I’ve laid it out for a 1590a with board mounted 9mm pots. More info, schematic and sound clips can be found here.
The Boosta Grande is a simple opamp-based boost that’s pretty similar to the MXR Micro Amp. Only differences being where the pot is in the circuit and component value changes. Offers up to +20dB of boost. Should fit in a 1590A if you don’t board mount the pot.
The Zonk Machine II was the more budget friendly version of the Zonk Machine. It was a simplified circuit and featured silicon transistors in place of germanium. Originals used 2N4061 PNP silicons, but other could be used. Because it’s silicon based, it shouldn’t be too hard to make the swap to NPNs so it can … Read more
Been a while since I’ve laid out an Electra and I came across the Champ schematic on FSB, so here you go. Should fit with a board mounted pot in a 1590A.